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The OnePlus 8T sits in the middle of the company’s latest line of flagship challenger phones, with some minor compromises and a lower price. I spent a week with it before its release and found it to be a solid option for most people.
Which is cool
I got the 12GB RAM / 256GB high-end storage option to test in Aquamarine Green. In the US, it will cost you $ 749 (Rs. 54,940). It is a bit cheaper in India at just Rs. 45,999 ($ 627), where it is cheaper than many other phones that feature the powerful Snapdragon 865 chip, such as the Oppo Find X2 and the Xiaomi Mi 10 5G.
The 8T gets you a lot for your money, including a fantastic 120Hz display that’s super bright and vivid, top-of-the-line internals for snappy performance, and a versatile and capable camera system.
Among all that, it feels fantastic to use in productivity tools, social media apps, graphics-intensive games, and streaming services. That’s to be expected in this price range, so there are no surprises there. But given the competition, the 8T offers good value on this support.
I won’t go into much detail about the camera, because my colleague Napier Lopez has a full comparison of the 8T’s camera system to that of the Google Pixel 5 to come, and you should have a pretty good idea of what to expect there. With that said, I’ll say that it’s pretty versatile and works well with a variety of updated modes and features from the previous generation. In particular, I enjoyed using the new Nightscape mode which makes it easy to take brilliant photos and videos in low light.
I’m also a huge fan of OxygenOS, and version 11 adds a ton of new features that make it more enjoyable to use. This is also among the first crop of phones to ship with Android 11 out of the box (Vivo’s V20 surpassed it by a hair), so you will find many optimizations and improvements to the interface and the way the platform works in general.
There are nice touches like the always-on Insight display mode, which tells you how many times you’ve unlocked your phone (in the hope you don’t need to check it repeatedly), an updated Zen Mode to disable access to apps, and notifications for up to two hours at a time. the time, and an elegant but discreet interface design throughout the operating system.
One of the 8T’s biggest draws is its 65W fast charge, which is ridiculous. You can charge the large 4,500 mAh battery in just under 40 minutes with the included adapter and USB-C cable, and I routinely ended my days with over 20% power remaining on my phone for the past week. The 8 and 8 Pro only run on 30W, which is not bad, and there aren’t many other 65W phones right now.
That is not so hot
There’s not much to dislike about the OnePlus 8T, but it’s just not a memorable phone. I cannot imagine this being fondly remembered or written about years from now as a groundbreaking device, or even one that is far above the competition.
It’s not quirky in its feature set, and it looks positively uncomplicated. That is not to say that it is not a good phone. It feels solid and the aqua green catches the light really well, but that’s about it. The camera module looks like one you’ve seen elsewhere, and the rest of the body is actually a rectangular metal slab with a flat screen.
I miss the early days of OnePlus, when it dared to incorporate unique design elements into the phone, interesting materials for its cases, and finishes that you wouldn’t find with any other brand. Sadly, the 8T is like many other phones you can buy today, including several that cost a lot less.
Compared to the 8 Pro, there are some minor differences in things like the RAM type (the 8T gets LPDDR4X, while the 8 Pro is on LPDDR5), the storage type (UFS3.1 on the 8T vs. UFS 3.0 on the 8 Pro), the sensors in the camera system (the 8T gets slightly lower specs), and the lack of a MEMC chip that enhances the lower frame rate content to match the high refresh rate of screen for smoother animation. Oh, and you don’t get wireless charging on the 8T.
You also won’t get a telephoto lens like you do with the 8 Pro; There are only standard, ultrawide, macro, and monochrome lenses on the 8T. This might be a bummer for some people, but personally I wouldn’t call it a deal breaker. Reviewing photos on my OnePlus 7 Pro that I used for the better part of a year, I found almost no shots that used the optical zoom. How important this is is really up to you and how you like to take photos and videos on the go.
Should you consider the OnePlus 8T?
If you’re looking for a well-priced phone that will comfortably fit the rest for a few years and perform well across the board, this is a safe option. OnePlus’ software is straightforward and receives regular updates, and the 8T comes with a good camera system that feels like a substantial upgrade from last year’s models. And, of course, there is a lot of energy available.
It’s just not unique in any way, like the expensive Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Note Ultra, or the rotating screen LG Wing, or even the tall Sony Xperia models that launched this year. And for many people, that won’t matter. At its price point, it’s certainly tempting (even more so in India), so I’d certainly recommend checking it out before buying a new phone this year.
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Posted Oct 14, 2020 – 16:34 UTC
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